


Kiss Kiss (Fall in Love)

by Laisaxrem



Series: This is Us (english version) [26]
Category: Naruto
Genre: 50 Types of Kisses - Writing Prompts, F/M, M/M, One Shot Collection, more tags in every chapter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:41:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29400681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laisaxrem/pseuds/Laisaxrem
Summary: 1. ShikaTema - If you Want to Know if he Loves you so: it’s in his Kiss (that’s Where it is) - Prompt 41: Kisses shared under an umbrella.2. NaruSasu - Darling Just Kiss me Slow (your Heart is all I Own) - Prompt 27: Kisses exchanged while one person sits on the other’s lap.3. KakaSaku - Lips Like Sugar (Sugar Kisses) - Prompt 16: One person pouting only to have it removed by a kiss from the other person.4. GaaLee - Are you Gonna Kiss me or Not? (Are we Gonna Do This or What?) - Prompt 30: Weak sweaty kisses because it’s unbearably hot.5. KakaSaku - When the Time Comes, Baby don’t Run (Just Kiss me Slowly) - Prompt 46: A lingering kiss after a long trip apart.
Relationships: Gaara/Rock Lee, Haruno Sakura/Hatake Kakashi, Nara Shikamaru/Temari, Sai/Yamanaka Ino, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Series: This is Us (english version) [26]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1976788
Comments: 6
Kudos: 45





	1. If you Want to Know if he Loves you so: it’s in his Kiss (that’s Where it is)

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Kiss Kiss (Fall in Love)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29400198) by [Laisaxrem](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laisaxrem/pseuds/Laisaxrem). 



> TITLE: Sakura Kiss - AmaLee
> 
> Considering that tomorrow is Valentine's Day, considering that yesterday I got a post on my Tumblr wall with a list of fifty types of kisses for a "writing prompts", today I decided to do some writing exercises with a romantic theme. I'll use these prompts (probably not all of them) and see what comes up. They will all be very short stories also because I don't want to be stuck with them for years: it's a writing exercise so I want to do them quickly and without thinking about them too much (and I have a couple of days off work and I want to make the most of them).  
> I also want to try to use KakaSaku as little as possible or, better yet, not use it at all: they are always the first couple I think of when a scene comes to my mind (not for nothing they are my OTP) so this time I want to try to dedicate myself to the other pairs of This Is Us.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Returning from Suna, Temari is surprised by a storm of rain and snow. Shikamaru awaits her to improve her mood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DATE: Saturday, 8th January 1682  
> TITLE: The Shoop Shoop Song (it’s in his Kiss) - Cher
> 
> Relationships: Nara Shikamaru / Temari  
> Characters: Temari, Nara Shikamaru  
> Additional Tags: Prompt 41 - Kisses shared under an umbrella

Temari was exhausted, cold and in a bad mood.

She jumped from branch to branch with such enthusiasm as to shatter the bark that splashed in the air like clouds of senbons. Her four traveling companions, chūnin and jōnin from her Village, trudged in her wake, every hour a few meters further away than her; but Temari didn’t care much: all she wanted was to get to Konoha as soon as possible and get out of _that damned rain_.

The storm of water and snow had surprised them a day’s walk from Konoha and they had decided to hurry up in the hope of getting out of it as soon as possible. It had not been so and now Temari felt soaked up to her bones and she seemed to feel the water flowing in places that she did not even know she had. With a grunt she lengthened her pace again; it was only a few minutes to the gate and the rain was intensifying: damned winter in the Land of Fire. Just now that she was basking in Suna’s dry heat and she thought she had filled up with it to get to summer.

She had returned to Suna for the six-monthly return of the Delegates to their native Villages. It had been nice to spend time with her brothers; Kankurō had kept himself missions-free and Gaara had even taken many afternoons off to spend with them in the Kazekage residence. (Gaara had something strange, Temari noticed it immediately, but she had not been able to give a name to that thing and her brother had not started the conversation so she had preferred to leave that feeling aside). Spending two weeks in her Village had been nice but she had to admit that part of her was sooo happy to be back in Konoha… and no, it wasn’t for a certain person. _Absolutely not_. That was just a bonus. Yes, it wasn’t for Shikamaru, at all, but for nothing at all. He might not even have been in Konoha for what she cared about. Yes, right.

Finally the trees opened up and one of the entrance gates to the Village appeared in all its grandeur.

Temari sighed and felt a little of her tiredness slip off her: she was at home.

Izumo and Kotetsu, the two chūnin at the entrance, welcomed them and greeted her by bowing their heads briefly. Temari returned the greeting but then gave them a bad look when she saw them nudge each other and whisper something. She was about to burst out and ask them what the _hell_ they were laughing at when a blur appeared in the corners of her field of vision and her senses vibrated at the presence of another chakra.

She turned instantly, one hand threateningly placed on the fan that she kept tied on her back, her best elite jōnin expression on her face... which immediately slipped away when she saw why Izumo and Kotetsu were elbowing each other.

Nara Shikamaru was approaching slowly, his shoulders a little bent in his usual bad posture, one hand buried in his trouser pocket, the other holding an umbrella. He had his usual bored expression on his face but his dark eyes sparkled.

Temari felt herself blush a little and remained where she was while her boyfriend ( _her boyfriend_? Could she really call him that? She wasn’t sure) walked slowly and greeted the two guardians with a soft «senpai» and a nod of the head.

When the man was finally in front of her, she crossed her arms to her chest and gave him a hard look.

«What are you doing here?»

«With this storm I figured you’d be here sooner and I came to get you», he said with a shrug. «I’ll take you home». And he took another step closer, covering her with the umbrella.

Temari felt the heat radiating from his body and had to fight against the desire to lean on him. Just at the thought of him she felt even more flushed so she looked away from Shikamaru to go on her traveling companions and the two chūnin at the counter who looked at them with an amused air. Shit.

«I can just as well go home alone», she muttered, but didn’t pull away. It seemed to her that some of the fatigue, the cold and the annoyance that had accompanied her in the last hours had subsided almost to disappear and she would have lied if she had said that she did not like lulling herself into that feeling of calm and heat.

«I know», he whispered as he lowered the umbrella a bit until Temari saw only the feet of the other shinobis.

And suddenly a warm hand was on her cheek and automatically, without thinking, Temari lifted her face until she found Shikamaru’s lips with hers, a hand flying to cling to the flak jacket of his uniform to pull him closer to her up to which she found herself pressed to his hot and strong chest. As they deepened the kiss the hand that had been on her cheek slipped through her wet hair, stroking her scalp and giving her short bursts of warmth and pleasure that ran through her body. She absentmindedly heard someone whistling and someone else commenting «get a room you two» but she ignored them. It was easy to ignore it all when Shikamaru’s mouth was on hers.

Finally they had to separate, breathing slightly laboured, Shikamaru’s cheeks as red as hers. He was smiling at her and Temari wanted nothing more than to take that smile off his face.

«Let’s go», she muttered, and, taking his hand, she began to walk. He followed her without a word.


	2. Darling Just Kiss me Slow (your Heart is all I Own) - NaruSasu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke wakes up from a nightmare. Naruto is there for him.
> 
> Happy Valentine's Day (almost late) everyone!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DATE: Saturday, 25th December 1687  
> TITLE: Perfect - Ed Sheeran
> 
> Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke / Uzumaki Naruto  
> Characters: Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto  
> Additional Tags: Prompt 27 - Kisses exchanged while one person sits on the other’s lap, a little bit of angst, with happy ending, a fluff ending

Sasuke woke up screaming.

It was certainly not the first time but that didn’t make it any less horrible. His life had been marked by nightmares since the night of the Uchiha Massacre, when he was just a child. At the time, the recurring dream obviously concerned his brother Itachi, clothes covered in the blood of their parents and family. Then when, he went to Orochimaru, to those nightmares others were added, and after killing his brother his nights were shaken by his face transfigured by pain as he asked for help and by him who failed to help him. After the end of the War the bad dreams remained and new ones were added to them: Naruto who hated him, Naruto who died at his hand, Naruto who laughed at him and left him behind, Sakura and Kakashi who threw in the towel at his regard.

In short, his life was full of nightmares and living in the Village did not help it. It was a little bit better when Naruto slept next to him but that night his partner didn’t come home before Sasuke went to bed. He had sent him a message that there were things to do at the Hokage tower and that he would not be back until midnight; lately he was often late, both he and Shikamaru who constantly tried to leave Kakashi a few hours free as Sakura’s pregnancy was proceeding with various problems.

Suddenly he heard light footsteps approaching and the bedroom door swung open. Even in almost total darkness, even without sharingan or rinnegan, Sasuke would have recognized that figure anywhere.

«Sasuke» Naruto was beside him in a few seconds and Sasuke could see the tired expression in those blue eyes that the night made grey. «What happened? Are you okay?»

«It was just a nightmare», he tried to minimize, but his skin felt beaded with cold sweat and his heart was beating faster than normal. And from the expression on Naruto’s face it was clear that he didn’t believe him in the least. «What time is it?» he asked in an attempt to distract him.

«Almost one in the morning. I arrived a few minutes ago», his partner explained sitting next to him on the bed and touching his cheek with a warm hand. Sasuke leaned on it almost unwittingly. «What was it this time? Itachi?»

«It was you…» he whispered, because it was useless to lie: even at twenty-five Naruto was always the usual persistent.

His clear eyes widened in understanding and his lips curled into a sad little smile. Naruto knew each of his nightmares. Not in every detail (Sasuke hadn’t been able to find the strength within himself to be too specific, especially about some of them) but he knew enough to understand the terror and pain in his mismatched eyes.

«I see». Then the fingers that had caressed his cheek disappeared to go down to grab him by the waist while the other hand took his and strengthened, lifting him.

Sasuke let himself be maneuvered without protest until he was astride his man who wrapped his arms around him and hugged him. The Uchiha buried his face in the hollow of his neck and inhaled that now-so-familiar scent as he let himself be comforted by that embrace, while the images of Naruto with glassy eyes and blood soaking the ground faded from his mind.

After a time that seemed endless, the hands that ran along the skin of his back began to slow down and then stop completely and Naruto’s breathing became slower. Sasuke straightened up a little and saw that his mate had fallen asleep. With a small smile he bent down again and brushed his lips with his.


	3. Lips Like Sugar (Sugar Kisses) - KakaSaku

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura returns home from work to find her husband and their two children playing on the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you remember when I said I would try not to use KakaSaku in this story? Like the day before yesterday. Here, I was lying. Shamelessly. But it was not wanted. I woke up yesterday morning with this scene in my head and I couldn't help myself. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.
> 
> DATE: Tuesday, 8th May 1695  
> TITLE: Lips Like Sugar - Echo & The Bunnymen
> 
> Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura & Hatake Megumi (OC), Haruno Sakura & Hatake Aki (OC), Hatake Kakashi & Hatake Aki (OC), Hatake Kakashi & Hatake Megumi (OC)  
> Characters: Haruno Sakura, Hatake Kakashi, Hatake Megumi (OC), Hatake Aki (OC)  
> Additional Tags: Prompt 16 - One person pouting only to have it removed by a kiss from the other person, family

Sakura had taken Yūki as an apprentice about eight years earlier and by now she had little left to teach her in the medical field. That particular day she had delivered a baby by Caesarean section without any problems and both mother and baby were perfectly fine. So Sakura felt less guilty every day leaving her patients in the hands of her apprentice to devote herself a little to the children’s clinic she had founded with Ino a few years after the War ended. It always filled her heart to see the progress the little patients (mostly young genin who were traumatized during missions or orphans facing the loss of their parents) made. Fortunately, over the years the number of children who had passed through those glass doors had drastically decreased thanks to the efforts and changes that Kakashi had made to the ninja system during his years as a Hokage.

So Sakura left work earlier that afternoon and returned home to find her husband and their two children sprawled on the living room mats, papers and coloured pencils and felt-tip pens surrounding them, Yoru sleeping blissfully in a pool of sunshine a couple of meters away from them.

«What are you doing?» she asked as she leaned over to kiss all three of them on their foreheads.

«Drawings», Megumi replied. She was almost seven years old and already going to the Academy and Sakura would have worried about bullies (their little girl was terribly small for her age) had it not been that Megumi had inherited her father’s leadership attitude and ninjutsu skills… as well as physical strength and chakra control by herself. Which, judging by the words of Shino and Iruka-sensei, made her impervious to the abuses of her companions. «Tōchan challenged us first to make a portrait of him asleep».

Sakura raised an eyebrow and glanced at her husband as the children proudly showed her the result of their “challenge”. It was _so typical_ of Kakashi, finding an ingenious way to take a nap while at the same time looking after the children.

«Is that so?»

He shrugged and smiled at her, continuing to draw on the album he held in his lap.

«And now he draws and we have to guess who it is. It’s funny», continued the little girl, putting a couple of sheets in her hand, one of Tenzō and the other of Pakkun, both a little stylized but still easily recognizable.

«I didn’t think you could draw», she said to her husband.

He shrugged again and, still without stopping working, whispered: «It’s just one of my countless gifts, Sakura-chan».

«You play too, okāsan», Aki interjected with his baby’s voice, his big green eyes so similar to Sakura’s that it was practically impossible for her to say no.

Sakura smiled and went to sit next to Kakashi. After making herself comfortable (and throwing a glance at the other drawings on the floor) she craned her neck and glanced at the sheet that her husband held in his hand.

«Hey, it doesn’t count if you look before the drawing is finished», he scolded her, trying to hide his work with his hands.

But Sakura had already seen it and gave him a dirty look, a raised eyebrow.

«Should that be me? It doesn’t look much like me».

It wasn’t true, of course; indeed, it was a very well done drawing. But Sakura couldn’t help but take every chance to tease her man.

«Oh right, there are no wrinkles», he retorted with a grin and hurried to add a couple of lines under the eyes.

«Ehi!» Sakura protested, patting him playfully on his arm and earning a grunt… oops.

«What are wrinkles?» Aki asked, his face frowning as he crawled next to his father and peered at the drawing.

«These signs here. They come in time, if you laugh a lot or because of worries», Kakashi replied, pointing to the small wrinkles he had traced with a marker under the eyes of her paper counterpart.

In the meantime, Megumi had also abandoned her place stretched on the tatami and had crouched in Kakashi’s lap, her pink head resting against his chest, her gray eyes bouncing between Sakura and the drawing.

«What are yours for, kāchan?»

«Mine are all caused by your father» Sakura retorted with a half-smile, her hand running to squeeze Kakashi’s.

«And yours, tōchan?» her little girl continued, turning her gaze to her father as her fingers slowly traced the little wrinkles under his eyes and around his mouth.

«Oh, for mines the fault is of the worries of being Hokage and of those idiots of your uncles».

«Kakashi…» she scolded him with a grunt and another punch on his shoulder.

«Sorry, sorry, no swearing. But you have to admit that your teammates are complicate», he said. And then he pouted. «And don’t hit me like that, Sakura-chan. It hurt».

Oh, _that pout_. Kakashi knew _exactly_ what it was doing inside her, how much she _yearned_ to get it off his face, devouring it. In fact, without hesitating, she got up on her knees and leaned towards him, making their mouths clash, at first lightly, like butterfly wings; but after a few seconds they both parted their lips in unison and deepened the contact, one of Kakashi’s large hands rising to grab her neck while with the other he raised the sketchbook to cover them from the curious eyes of their children. Sakura laced her fingers to the silver locks as if to cling to him, as if she feared that he would disappear at any moment.

When they finally separated and Kakashi removed the album, both children stared at them with their eyes shining. Sakura felt a little blush.

«So, who wants a racing with the ninkens?» Kakashi came to her rescue, he also with red cheeks.

The proposal was greeted by small cries of joy from the children and the sound of their little feet running towards the engawa leaving them a few minutes of privacy.


	4. Are you Gonna Kiss me or Not? (Are we Gonna Do This or What?) - GaaLee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An anomalous heat wave hit Suna, making the lives of shinobi and civilians almost unbearable. For Lee and Gaara they were also very hard days. But, as they say, a kiss can fix many things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DATE: Sunday, 11th August 1684  
> TITLE: Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not - Thompson Square
> 
> Relationships: Gaara/Rock Lee  
> Characters: Rock Lee, Gaara  
> Additional Tags: Prompt 30 - Weak sweaty kisses because it’s unbearably hot
> 
> However, the hardest thing here is getting a title for the stories. Damn the day I chose to choose titles with the word "kiss".

It was hot.

After nearly three and a half years in Suna, Lee believed he had gotten used to the sweltering heat of the Wind Country summers. Yet that year he seemed to be constantly in an oven. Day and night the hot desert air covered the Village like a thermal blanket. It was like being under a kotatsu at any moment of the day.

Everyone’s life had changed in the past few weeks. Non-essential missions had been postponed and guard shifts on the walls had been shortened, especially during the day. Civilians tended to stay indoors as much as possible and many shops only opened for a few hours; lessons at the Academy had all been suspended and it was forbidden to go out during the hottest hours except in an emergency. The water, which was already normally used sparingly, had been rationed because it was not clear how long the high atmospheric pressure wave would last and no one wanted to take the risk of finding themselves without the primary good par excellence.

Lee had even had to change his training routine, reducing the number of exercises and running laps because a few days earlier he had had sunstroke and the iryō-nin had released him from the hospital only by making him promise to spend less time outside. Lee would have worried about his own fitness had it not been that Gaara and Suna’s other shinobis also seemed to find those anomalous temperatures strenuous to bear.

The only place where the air did not seem like boiling ash was inside the houses; in particular, the Kazekage residence seemed to enjoy a little coolness which was a lifesaver after days and days of unbearable heat.

That morning Lee woke up in Gaara’s bed, both completely naked, the sheets damp with sweat twisted around their feet. The night before they had thrown themselves into bed, barely exchanging a quick kiss; even just _thinking_ about making love had been exhausting. In fact, it was days that they barely touched each other, their bodies tired out by the days of work and training and by the almost sleepless nights spent tossing and turning in the hope that that _damned heat_ would subside a bit.

Lee terribly missed contact with his boyfriend.

Slowly, almost painfully, Lee raised his arm (and for a moment it felt like he had to go through a curtain of jelly, how much the air was hot) and with his fingers he gently touched Gaara’s cheek. His smooth skin was covered with a veil of sweat but he did not withdraw his hand and rather continued that light exploration, covering every inch of the skin of that face he loved.

Suddenly Gaara’s eyes opened and Lee found himself drowning in a sea of green water.

«Good morning», he greeted him with a smile, stopping the movement of his fingers but without taking his hand away.

«What were you doing?»

«I wanted to feel you», Lee explained, slowly resuming touching his face, cautiously this time.

It wasn’t that Lee feared Gaara; not at all. But the Kazekage had had a difficult childhood and for many years the concept of love had been alien to him. Not to mention that throughout the first part of his life every person who had approached him had done so to try to kill him. Reaching the degree of intimacy they were now at had been difficult and at times risky and Lee often felt insecure, as if he were walking on eggs, afraid of hurting Gaara’s feelings.

And yet in the years of their relationship Lee had discovered that Gaara, contrary to appearances, was an extremely sensual man. And when Lee saw a light in Gaara’s eyes and felt his lips open under his fingers, he understood that Gaara was in _that_ mood.

«Then feel me», Gaara said in a whisper.

And Lee blushed tremendously.

In an instant he leaned forward and brushed his lips against Gaara’s, once, twice, a thousand times; each time the kiss was shorter, each time their warm breath seemed to make the air even more unbreathable. Lee could feel the drops of sweat beading on his face and chest, but Gaara’s words had lit a fire in him that was even more unbearable than the heat. After what seemed like an eternity, as by mutual agreement, that storm of kisses stopped and stood staring at each other, red faces, shortness of breath.

Then Gaara’s hand went to intertwine his sweat-damp hair and the Kazekage used that grip to reverse their positions and steal another kiss, short and wet and breathless.

«Feel me more», he then commanded.

And Lee obeyed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh. The atmosphere warmed up a bit in the end. Sorry(?)


	5. When the Time Comes, Baby don’t Run (Just Kiss me Slowly) - KakaSaku

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi.  
> If you reply to this letter by telling me that you will be late again, know that it doesn't matter, I understand perfectly. Hokage's duties come first, I've always told you.  
> Also because now I have someone else to keep my bed warm at night, so I don't need you anymore.  
> Sakura

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DATE: Saturday, 5th September 1686  
> TITLE: Kiss me Slowly - Parachute
> 
> Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Hatake Kakashi  
> Characters: Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura, Ninken  
> Additional Tags: Prompt 46 - A lingering kiss ~~before~~ after a long trip apart, I’m an idiot, I had read wrong, so I corrected the prompt, I said you that I’m an idiot

It had been a long and tiring month. Kakashi had been summoned by the Daimyō and what must have been a short visit of less than a week had turned into thirty-four days away not only from his beloved Village but above all from his beloved wife. Obviously when he had realized he wasn’t coming home on schedule, he had Sakura send a messenger hawk assuring her that he would be back by the end of the week. He had had to send two more messages of this kind and finally, on the twenty-fifth day, had summoned Pakkun asking him to come and see Sakura, make sure she was okay, and maybe stay with her until he returned.

Now that he finally saw the gates of the Village, Kakashi accelerated his pace. In the pocket of his uniform he heard the creaking of the paper of the last note that his wife had sent him and that he had read and reread in the last few days.

> Kakashi.
> 
> If you reply to this letter by telling me that you will be late again, know that it doesn't matter, I understand perfectly. Hokage's duties come first, I've always told you.
> 
> Also because now I have someone else to keep my bed warm at night, so I don't need you anymore.
> 
> Sakura

As soon as he had read it for a moment he was baffled. Then he had burst out laughing and took pen and paper to answer… which he had never done because the Daimyō had called him urgently. From there he had returned to his apartments only to throw himself into bed for a few hours and take a quick shower the next morning. Three days later, finally, the Daimyō had given him permission to return to the Village. Kakashi hadn’t had it repeated twice and left the next day when the sun hadn’t risen yet. Throughout the journey he had forced his escort to keep pace; his goal was to get home by evening: he wanted to arrive before Sakura went to bed, he wanted to take her in his arms and hold her close and kiss her until he fell asleep.

Too bad he hadn’t come to terms with his two babysitters. Genma had started muttering about a hypothetical sprained ankle in the middle of the morning but Kakashi had ignored him. He had not been able to ignore, however, Tenzō’s insistent chakra which a couple of hours later had started to glow in waves like fire; it was a clear warning sign from his ANBU team’s taichō and for a while Kakashi was able to ignore it. It was nearly noon when he had had to give in to the insistent chakra pulses and signalled Genma and Sai to stop for lunch; he had given them a little over forty minutes, mostly because Kakashi realized that his head had started to hurt and he needed to rest (oh, he would have come up with a way to make Tenzō pay for that, that was for sure).

They had taken two more breaks, much to Kakashi’s despondency (although, as the sun went down on the horizon, it was increasingly clear to him that the chances of being able to return to the Village before evening were slim or nil) and it was dark when they finally entered the gates of Konoha.

Kakashi did not want to do anything but leave his escort there and run home but he knew he had to go to the office first: the next morning he would have to meet the full Council and update them so he needed to have all the documents in order. Shikamaru was waiting for him there and a part of Kakashi was amazed (it was tragically far beyond his usual schedule); but on the one hand he was grateful because thanks to his help he got the last chores done in half the time.

Almost two hours later Kakashi closed the file he had in front of him with a sigh.

«I’m sorry, Shikamaru, but I really have to go for today», he announced, casting a worried glance at the wall clock. Shit.

His young friend nodded and began to collect the papers neatly.

«Sakura will be mad, huh?»

«Mmm… Maybe», he conceded. Then he smiled and added: «She wrote to me that she found someone else to warm her bed».

After a second of amazement (Kakashi was happy to have said it just to see his usual bored expression give way to a pair of wide open eyes) Shikamaru laughed and rubbed the back of his neck absently.

«Good luck, then».

Too exhausted to run but with his chakra at a frighteningly low level, Kakashi weighed his alternatives and, with a nod to Shikamaru, grabbed his backpack and used the Shunshin to leave the office and reappear outside his home (he knew that Tenzō hated it when he did and that awareness was enough to compensate for the severe dizziness that hit him upon landing).

When he opened the front door he was greeted by darkness and silence.

«Tadaima», he announced in a low voice as he gently placed his backpack on the cabinet in the genkan and tidied up his sandals.

For the first time in a month, Kakashi felt he could breathe perfectly and the fatigue and frustration he had been carrying around all that time faded away from his body.

Part of him wanted nothing more than to run to their bedroom and wake Sakura, lose himself in her embrace and feel her warm skin against his, her thin but strong fingers stroking his hair. Not to have sex (he didn’t think he had the energy right now) but simply to _feel her_. But the other part of him knew that it was terribly late and Sakura had a bad habit of overdoing it in the hospital and Academy and wherever they called her, so she deserved every minute of sleep she could carve out.

But…

But Kakashi _needed_ to hear her voice. Damn.

Sighing he went into the bathroom on the ground floor and washed quickly using the little showers: he was tired but not so tired as to take the dirt of the trip to bed and at the same time he didn’t want to risk waking Sakura using the shower upstairs.

A towel around his waist and one around his neck, Kakashi padded up the stairs and went to their room. The fusuma was open and as soon as he appeared on the threshold the man realized that Sakura had not lied in her letter: in fact his wife _was not alone_ in their bed.

With her there was a mountain of dogs.

Sakura was in his half of the bed, lying on her side, the sheets all bunched up at the bottom, Pakkun lying belly up under her right hand. Bull was crouched at her feet, his forelegs intertwined with her legs, and took up most of the bottom of the bed while the other six ninkens were arranged around them: Bisuke had his muzzle pressed against Sakura’s back, Akino was for half lying on Bull, Shiba on his stomach took up almost half of the bed forcing Ūhei to remain curled up in a corner while Urushi managed to carve out a space of his own on Sakura’s pillow and Guruko’s tufted tail was sticking out from under the sheets. Finally a small black ball was curled up on his pillow next to Sakura’s pink head, its tail stretched out to brush her neck: Yoru, their kitten, not even three months old.

Kakashi stared at the scene with his mouth open for a moment, his eyelids blinking fast, and then a laugh escaped his lips. He stopped it immediately but it was too late. Sakura moved and opened her eyes and after a few seconds she brought him into focus.

«Mmm? Kakashi?» she moaned, her voice hoarse with sleep.

He came over and knelt on the floor, one hand going to touch her shoulder left bare by the loose t-shirt she was wearing. That brief contact was like a balm for Kakashi: he _knew_ that he had missed Sakura but until that moment he hadn’t really realized _how much_.

«Sorry. I didn’t want to wake you up», he whispered, leaning forward to gently kiss the skin he had just stroked.

Sakura’s eyes fixed on his and Kakashi got lost in that green, so much so that he almost didn’t notice her fingers caressing his face slowly, gently, as if to memorize every curve and every corner.

Kakashi could no longer restrain himself and leaned forward to kiss her. He didn’t even open his mouth, too exhausted to _think_ about deepening contact, and Sakura didn’t protest. Yet that kiss on the lips, one of the most chaste they had ever exchanged without the hindrance of the mask, lasted an infinity of seconds, the lips brushing and retracting and then approaching again in a slow dance.

Finally Sakura sighed and rested her forehead against his for a second.

«When did you arrive?»

«Less than two hours ago. I had to go to the office», Kakashi replied, his fingers tracing Sakura’s skin in slow movements. Then his gaze was drawn to the movement of a tail and he smiled. «So you weren’t kidding when you said there was someone else to keep your bed warm, huh?»

«Yeah», Sakura chuckled as her fingers mimicking his. «In fact, maybe they keep a little _too_ hot», she added, nodding her head to the sheets abandoned on the bottom of the bed.

«We can always leave, girly», came the grunt from Pakkun.

The little ninken opened his eyes and scanned them with his stern frown but Kakashi knew it was just a farce.

«Absolutely not», Sakura replied, giving a little scratch to the brown fur of his eldest ninken. «You are not going away, tonight».

«Oh. So I’ll take a futon…» Kakashi began, uncertain. Because the more he looked, the more it became evident that the ninken took up all the space in the bed and that there was no room for him too.

He had to admit, he was disappointed. Yes, the sight of Sakura and the dogs snuggled together warmed his heart, but after thirty-four days away, Kakashi wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms and fall asleep to the sound of her breath.

«Where do you think you’re going?» Sakura stopped him, grabbing him by the wrist, as if she was afraid of seeing him disappear. «There is room for you too, you know?»

«There is?»

«There is. Come on, Rokudaime-sama, come here», Sakura urged

Kakashi hesitated a little longer, trying to figure out where he could actually lie down. On Bull, like when he was just a six year old boy? Or maybe he could convince Shiba to sleep a little more composed so as to carve out a corner of the mattress?

«Stop being precious and join us», Pakkun scolded him as he idly stretched his legs and slightly changed position. At his words, the other ninkens moved just enough to create a space behind Sakura, small but enough for Kakashi to stretch out beside his wife and hug her. «Or go to the other room: we’ll take care of keeping Sakura company», added his old friend again. Then he closed his eyes.

Giving in to Pakkun’s words and Sakura’s smile, Kakashi got up and shook off the damp towels. He already had one knee on the bed, his eyes looking for the best way to reach his place without stepping on some ears or some tails, when he was interrupted by two brown eyes that glared at him.

«Put on a pair of underwear first», Pakkun growled louder than before. And Kakashi realized that he had never actually worn a pair of boxers after washing. «What are you, a savage?»

Sakura and Kakashi stared at each other for a second, then they both burst out laughing.


End file.
